If you are in your first year or two of undergraduate school, you may be wondering what you should know before applying to law school to increase your chances of being accepted. Here are ten things you can do to make yourself a stronger candidate.

1. Know what major you want and excel in studying it. Law schools are not interested whether you pursue a law-related undergraduate major or not. What they are looking for is dedication in the area of study you choose. A double major with several minors will not necessarily help you.

2. Know how to build and maintain a first-rate GPA. Your first two years of college will set you up for a successful GPA for the next years of your higher education.

3. Know the importance of leadership roles. Now is the time to become active in your community and take on leadership positions in extracurricular activities. Pick several to pursue and be willing to provide service with no pay so you can claim volunteer work.

4. Have competence in a wide range of classes. Anything that will build your writing, research and analytical skills will be beneficial when the time comes to apply to the top law schools.

5. Know about law. Even if your degree is not law-related, take a few courses as your electives. This will prepare you with a foundation of skills and help you grasp if a study of law is really for you.

6. Know your faculty members. Their letters of recommendation could have a huge impact on whether you are accepted to the top law schools in the country or not.

7. Know people who work in a legal profession. They will have the ability to give you sound advice on the application process and what the top law schools are really like.

8. Have an internship under your belt. By working in a real legal environment, you can gain hands-on experience and truly determine if law is the right work for you.

9. Know what you can do with your degree. Research job titles and their given descriptions. There is quite a range of job options for you, so decide which specific track you want to pursue.

10. Know that applications committees and potential employers can view your social networking profiles. Keep information about yourself unobjectionable to make a good impression and prevent any question of your character.

By bearing in mind the importance of these ten considerations, you will be better prepared to apply for admission into the top law schools.

Funny how one semester can kill you. I failed every class one semester because I was all about making money at 19 years old. I was on a scholarship so never thought about withdrawing. It was'nt my money I was losing. Nearly a decade later and it is coming back to haunt me.

Everyone makes mistakes. Your 3.98 since returning to school is spectacular and schools will take that into consideration. Admissions committees are made up of people who will read your story in detail. You should create a lawschoolnumbers page, too.

MVP are safeties for the OP and you are seriously underestimating how easy it is to get into MVP with OP's numbers and three years of almost 4.0. CCN are the targets. If OP continues to post after his admissions cycle you will see I'm right as long as OP does not make any mistakes in the app. I don't think HYS are good chances now that we know the college but H might bite.. tho it is unlikely. I also think this past season was impossible to predict and is not a good indicator of the future but I am speaking with a seminormal economy in mind. This could go back and forth all day but my last 2 c.

The first thing that is wrong is that you picked stats for the toughest admissions season in the last several decades. The second thing that is wrong is that you are severely discounting OP's three stellar years and one bad year. The third ting that is wrong is that you and others are severly discounting the strength of applicant's college and your distorted concept that only HYP get a boost. OP does have a legit but not good shot at HYS if OP goes to a respectable school. Even taking the HYS discussion off the table you are still undeniably wrong about the chances of the hypothetical student getting into CCN. In no place have I gone off table since the original post was also about chances at a top 10 where you replied OP should be targeting MVP rather than schools ranked above....WRONGI won't count on any 0L, current student, or lawyer to concede their point so I suppose this exercise is pointless.

You do understand the difference between a target and a reach, don't you? I didn't say that the OP shouldn't apply to schools ranked above MVP, I simply said that MVP was the target range. By all means, the OP should apply to higher ranked schools. If I was the OP, I'd personally only apply to CCN as my reaches, MVP as my targets, and the rest of the T-14 as my safety range.

Your posts are white noise. Since you've made it clear that you're guessing and haven't actually been through the process, then trying to talk sense to you is like beating one's head into a brick wall. I'd prefer to do other things.

The first thing that is wrong is that you picked stats for the toughest admissions season in the last several decades. The second thing that is wrong is that you are severely discounting OP's three stellar years and one bad year. The third ting that is wrong is that you and others are severly discounting the strength of applicant's college and your distorted concept that only HYP get a boost. OP does have a legit but not good shot at HYS if OP goes to a respectable school. Even taking the HYS discussion off the table you are still undeniably wrong about the chances of the hypothetical student getting into CCN. In no place have I gone off table since the original post was also about chances at a top 10 where you replied OP should be targeting MVP rather than schools ranked above....WRONG

I won't count on any 0L, current student, or lawyer to concede their point so I suppose this exercise is pointless.

Where did you go to law school and what were your numbers? I don't want to go through all your posts to find them. I'm not taking it personally at all. I just think you are wrong and have a very negative view that does not reflect reality.

Let me ask you one question that should clear it all up for everyone.

How good of a chance at CCN do you think of the following hypothetical person?

Keep in mind I stated from the beginning that undergraduate school will matter a lot and we don't know which school OP went to.

I go to one of HYS and I have a higher ed background.

In terms of the above hypothetical person's chances at CCN, I think they'd have a better shot at NYU than Columbia or Chicago (and NYU with possibly $25K/year of Dean's Scholarship). My guess would be a hold at Chicago and Columbia at the outset barring some additional information (URM? Any significant awards?).

That tone tickles me. It matters. For every 3.5 CLS takes from mediocre state school CLS takes five to ten 3.5 type students from an Ivy. Are you familiar with probability? YLS may take 5 from Columbia College while taking 60 students from Harvard College even though gpa and lsat statistics are equal or similar between the two.